Dave Dahl describes himself as a “guy that bakes bread,” but he’s clearly no ordinary baker. Dave’s story stretches back through the darkness of drug addiction and prison time (four trips, the last one lasting a whopping 88 months). It’s a past he’s very forthcoming about. But it’s his present life that is most extraordinary. He founded his own successful company, Dave’s Killer Bread, and produces some of the finest and best tasting organic breads anywhere. Now an “R&D” man, Dave spends his days designing breads and baking up his creations for sale around the Pacific Northwest (and elsewhere, too, click on UPS orders to taste for yourself).
On the day I talked to him, Dave Dahl began work around 5:30 AM. Not that early, he said, since his bread gets produced after his family brand, NatureBake, goes first. Dave grew up in the baking business. His father founded NatureBake way back in 1955. It was a turn of good fortune that Dave didn’t recognize when he was younger. Instead, he rebelled. He just didn’t see a future in bread. Baking involves long hours; the work is just about “round the clock,” he said. Rejecting his family’s business and the opportunities it provided, Dave embarked on a “downward path.”
But that wasn’t the whole story. Dave had trouble concentrating. Even a simple conversation was hard for him to follow. He couldn’t listen for more than a few minutes at time and his attention span “was terrible.” Not only that, he suffered bouts of deep depression that included suicidal thoughts. There were “lots of traps” that his mind would fall into. Eventually, his downward path included drugs and crime. Finally, he wound up in prison. Surrounded by walls and barbed wire, and deeply depressed, he realized he had to have help. He hadn’t wanted to be one of those guys in the medication line–after all, he was a “tough guy”–but he found humility.
Humility is one of the rarest of character strengths. When scores on the VIA Signature Strengths Questionnaire are compared, humility always ranks at the bottom. Twenty-fourth out of 24. Dead last. Almost no one possesses humility which includes, among other things, the ability to see one’s self accurately (neither puffed up nor beaten down) and the ability to be accountable for one’s actions without making excuses. In Peterson and Seligman’s landmark work, Character Strengths and Virtues, humility is defined as “a nondefensive willingness to see the self accurately, including both strengths and limitations” (p 463). Most people either see themselves as better than they actually are or, less commonly, much worse.
One of the things that was most impressive about talking to Dave was his very real humility. Dave was really open about his shortcomings, a key feature of true humility. He admitted that he sometimes still fall prey to resentment and anger. Dave doesn’t gloss over his mistakes. He still makes them, he says, but now he realizes that his mistakes don’t define who he is. He stops and thinks about what he’s done, what he’s thinking about, and then he learns from his error… and moves on. He knows that mistakes are just detours, not dead ends. His suffering, he told me, forced him to see himself as he really is. Now, Dave focuses on being authentic, not pretending to be someone he’s not.
Somehow, too, Dave remains open hearted. Despite all he’s seen (which I imagine includes the very worst side of society), he still trusts people and wants to help others. He puts his time and energy into his love of learning: music, history, forensics, and of course, nutrition. Dave isn’t a perfect person, nor does he pretend to have solved all his problems. But he’s learning, he said. He knows he’s a lucky guy. He burned a lot of bridges back in his old days. He didn’t think he could come back. Yet, he did, demonstrating genuine resilience.
As for the future, one of the next things for Dave Dahl is public speaking. He wants to take his story on the road, to help other people learn from, and hopefully avoid, some of his mistakes. No doubt, Dave will use all the character strengths he showed in our conversation: creativity, love of learning, courage, and humility, to craft great talks. I can’t wait to hear him.
Have a success story you’d like to share? Know someone who has overcome adversity? Email me! Your story could be featured here next.
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